Here I Come
by Annabelle Rose the Hedgehog
Summary: So Sonic and Amy grow older and have a family. Eggman seems to be gone and everything seems to be going great. Annie, Sonic and Amy's first born, grows up finding love and her place in the world. Even with the threat of a possible copycat villain.
1. Chapter 1

**So I want to try my hand at a next generation direction. I've pondered this story for a few years now. Let's see how it turns out.**

 **I'm still working on A Little Visit and I think maybe going in between stories might help the juices in my brain flow a bit better. Different places, different scenes, different personalities to dive into.**

 **Enjoy**

* * *

Once upon a time, there was a hero and a villain. The hero was a blue, speedy, fast talking hedgehog with a good heart. He saved the world countless times from catastrophe. His name, is Sonic the Hedgehog. The villain, was an evil doctor set out to destroy our hero and take over the world. You know, as villains do. Anyway, the evil genius built all kinds of machines and robots to go along with his many schemes. He was called Dr. Eggman… not sure what happened there. But try as he might, Dr. Eggman was unsuccessful. And thanks to the friends of our hero, his defeat was always ensured.

Eventually, the Dr. passed on and our heroes was without a big time villain to beat. This was an opportunity for them to settle and start families. Sonic the Hedgehog and his wife at the time of the Dr.'s passing, Amy Rose, were comfortable to finally begin a step in their lives they had been waiting for: to start a family. This is where I come in.

Let's see, I was born on a Tuesday on an autumn afternoon.

My mother was sipping in tea in the backyard. She loved being out in her garden and staring out at her cherry tree. When suddenly, "Ah! Oh," She giggled. "Sweetie, please don't hurt Mommy so much." For some odd reason, I may or may not have heard and understood her when she talked to me. My mom swears I'd kick her a few times too many and she'd ask me to stop. I would obey.

Sometime would pass before she would feel a sharp pain again and all she did was talk to me and rub her belly. She started to feel more pain though off and on for a time before she felt like she had to go the bathroom and her water broke.

"Oh dear!" She quickly waddled inside the cottage she and Dad had been sharing for years. She grabbed the communicator Uncle Tails had invented, he's a genius and builds a ton of stuff, and called my dad.

"Hey Ames, I've got everything on the list."

"Oh, Aaahhh," Mom managed to say with a slight squeal from another burst of pain, "That's great Sonic. Please hurry back, the baby's coming."

The transmission when staticky.

"Sonic? Sonic!" Mom yelled into it. Nothing. She sighed and wrapped her hands around her belly. "Okay Honey, I know you want to come out and believe me I want you to come out too, but we have to wait for daddy for a bit." She waddled to the living room and sat down on the couch just as my dad came bursting through the door with the groceries.

"Sonic," my mom sighed with relief.

He put away the groceries and joined Mom on the couch. "Are you ready Amy?" He asked her as he took her hand.

"I think so, just please don't shake me up on the way to the hospital." She looked at Dad with pleading eyes.

"I don't think that'll be a problem. I grabbed Tails and his new cart thing with a motor."

"Oh really?" Mom asked. "Is it safe?"

"He's already tested it, we just need to wait a little while for him to get here. Can you hold on till then Ames?"

She nodded with a weak smile. "I think so. The baby has been patient so far." She looked down and rubbed her belly.

Dad kissed her cheek and then her lips when she looked up.

"Can you believe it? We're having a baby." She smiled.

"I know, I can't wait to meet him or her." They had decided to wait until the day of my birth to find out if I was a boy or girl.

When Uncle Tails arrived, they rushed to the hospital being careful with my mom. Dad held Mom the entire trip comforting her. In the hospital, my mom was taken into a room where she was checked in preparation for delivery. Uncle Tails informed Aunt Cream, Uncle Knuckles Aunt Rouge and even Mr. Shadow and Maria as soon as they made it to the hospital.

According to Uncle Tails, Aunt Cream and Aunt Rouge rushed to Mom's room to see her.

"Amy?" Aunt Cream stuck her head out.

"Yes, Cream." Mom smiled.

"Amy!" Aunt Rouge exclaimed.

They pushed through the door and rushed to the side of her bed.

Dad greeted them as they walked in and asked, "Where are Tails and Knuckles?"

"Probably trying to find this room." Aunt Rouge said and rolled her eyes.

"They'll be here soon." Aunt Cream assured. "How are you feeling Amy?"

Mom tried to giggle. "Um, as well as a lady about to have a baby I guess. The doctor says it will still be a while before I'm ready to deliver."

"Do you need anything?" Aunt Rouge asked.

"No, I don't think so."

That's when Uncle Knuckles and Uncle Tails came through the doors.

"And here we are." Uncle Tails said.

"Hey guys, took you long enough." Dad smirked.

"Glad you could make it." Mom told them. "I'm glad all of you could make it."

"We wouldn't miss this for the world Amy." Aunt Cream told her.

"I still can't believe two of us are going to have a kid." Uncle Knuckles said.

"Are Shadow and Maria coming?" Amy asked.

"They're going to be late. Maria feels sick and Shadow is still on a mission."

"She's sick?" Mom asked worried.

He nodded. "Yeah, Maria says she'll be by as soon as she can."

"Can't you just pick her up Tails." Aunt Cream asked.

"I would, but Maria wanted to make sure she was well enough to come and visit."

Hours went by. Doctors came in and out of Mom's room while they waited. With every hour, Mom's contractions came quicker and lasted longer. When Dad wasn't holding onto Mom hands when she experienced her contractions he was pacing around the room and even took to hopping out of the window to run around for a few seconds before coming back. Needless to say, Dad was anxious and Mom was scared. You can't really blame them though. Another living person is about to enter the world and it's a rather painful experience.

Everyone was there in shifts to munch on something or to get fresh air but Mom was never left by herself. She took to reading to me, singing to me, watching her favorite soap opera and even screaming into a pillow when it got closer to delivery.

"I don't know how much longer I can take this!" Mom exclaimed after a really long one. "There's gotta be a way to make this go faster." Dad and the guys went to grab a snack leaving the girls with Mom. Aunt Cream and Aunt Rouge sat in chairs next to Mom's bed.

"Oh Amy, I wish there was something we could do." Aunt Cream said.

"I know, and I appreciate the thought. Ugh, if the contractions are this bad I can only imagine how hard birthing is actually going to be." She tried to breathing again to help.

"Don't think about that right now. Think about how beautiful your baby is going to be and how happy he or she is going to be." Aunt Cream started.

"Yeah, think about dressing the baby up and taking him or her to the park. How Happy you and Sonic will be." Aunt Rouge

Mom looked at Cream and Rouge and smiled. "Thanks girls." According to Mom, she went into a day dream of exactly what Aunt Cream and Aunt Rouge described.

Meanwhile, Dad was a little worried and anxious. Dad, Uncle Tails and Uncle Knuckles went to a local café to eat. They wanted some air so they took to a table outside. "Are you sure you don't want to eat something?" Uncle Tails asked Dad as he paced around.

"I'm not hungry Tails. Thanks."

Uncle Tails and Uncle Knuckles looked at Dad and then shared a look. Uncle Knuckles shrugged.

"Is something wrong?" Uncle Tails asked.

"No, why?" Dad stopped pacing.

"You're making a whole in the cement."

"Oh, well I don't want to run so far away. I want to be there for Amy when the baby's coming." He looked at the hospital.

"Calm down Sonic, if Amy were going into labor, Cream would call and you'd be there in seconds."

"Yeah, and I don't think you'll be much help if you're this nervous and worried. Amy's probably scared enough, she needs you to be calm. You're starting to scare us Sonic." Uncle Knuckles told him.

"I know, I know. I don't really get it either. I thought, I would be more excited today. Amy and I are having a baby. Him or her is almost here and I'm all… I don't know! I just want it to be over. Amy okay, the baby here and we can go home one big happy family. The hard part to be over." He sighed.

Uncle Tails and Uncle Knuckles looked at Dad sadly as they understood Dad's feelings. "We know it isn't easy to see Sonic, that's your wife and child in there, but it will be over soon." Uncle Tails told him.

"Amy is strong and resilient Sonic. She can do this." Uncle Knuckles told him.

Dad looked at them and took a deep breath. "Thanks guys."

"Oh boy, Cream's calling."

Before Uncle Tails answered Aunt Cream's call, Dad was at the hospital with Mom.

Somehow, when Mom was ready to deliver, I was in a rush to come out. According to Mom, she pushed a handful of times before I slipped out. Dad remembered Mom squeezed his hand fairly hard and all he could think about was Mom and the excitement he had when I started to crown. I was just about here.

"You're almost there Amy, just a few more."

"Uh huh." She breathed.

Then finally, "It's a girl."

Mom was crying. "We have a girl, Sonic."

"I know Ames." He sighed and kissed my mom. "You did great Amy."

"Here you are." The nurse handed me over to my mom.

"He-ey, baby girl. I'm your mommy." Mom started to cry again. "I'm your mommy." She kissed my forehead. According to Dad, from here until I was about three or four. Mom would talk to me in a certain baby talk voice that was really soft. Mom would sound weak the rest of the day and for a long time afterward.

Dad rubbed my cheek. "Hi, I'm your Dad. Oh she's perfect Amy."

"Isn't she?"

"We still need to name her."

The others were allowed to come and visit after a little while. Mom and Dad went back and forth on names before everyone came in.

"Hello?" Aunt Cream asked when she poked her head through the door.

"Hey," Mom smiled. "Come in,"

Everyone awed when they saw me for the first time.

"She's beautiful. May I hold her Amy?" Aunt Cream asked.

"Sure Cream." Mom handed me over to Aunt Cream who cooed when I was in her arms.

"Did you guys name her yet?" Uncle Tails asked as he peered over Aunt Cream's shoulder.

Mom and Dad smiled at each other. "We decided to name her Annabelle, Annabelle Rose the Hedgehog." Mom said.

"Annie for short." Dad said.

"Hi Annie." They all said.


	2. Chapter 2

I want to say my first real memory was when I was five and I met someone. Mom, Dad and I were out in the back yard. I had to be careful not to bounce my ball too far or too high since Mom didn't want anything to happen to our cherry tree. Plus… there was the forest that was right behind us. Nowadays, the forest isn't a problem, more like a second part of the backyard since I'm older now.

Anyway, I rolled the ball to Dad expecting him to kick it when I felt a gust of wind. When I turned around, I saw a family. They were hedgehogs like us. One was ebony and his quills stuck up kind of funny with red stripes in them. He scared me. Something did not seem right with him. The lady looked a lot nicer. She was a blonde and her quills were really long. She wore nice blue sun dress. She was really pretty. Then here was a boy about the same age as me. He was dark like the scary looking one and had a head of hair instead of quills. At first, I was confused that he didn't have quills but I kind of liked his hair. He had a light blue stripe in it that looked kind of cool. His eyes were blue too.

"Shadow! Maria! Caleb! What a surprise." Mom exclaimed as she got up and gave the blonde lady a hug. Mom and Dad knew them somehow. I stayed back and watched the grown-ups for a bit.

"Yeah, how ya been?" Dad said and held a hand out to the darker hedgehog who kind of looked at it funny before shaking my dad's hand with a weird smile.

"Hi Amy, Sonic." Maria said.

"We've been fine." Shadow answered my dad.

"Annie, you remember Shadow, Maria and their son Caleb right?" Mom asked as I walked closer to her.

I looked at them and then looked at my parents as if they were crazy. I couldn't remember any of these people. And I'm sure I would remember the big scary one. I shook my head no and said, "Nope."

"Caleb, Honey, do you remember Sonic, Amy and Annie?" Maria asked.

Caleb looked at my parents and then looked at me. "I don't think so Mother."

The grown-ups looked a little disappointed. I was just weirded out that he called his mom "Mother."

"Oh well, you were probably too young to remember." Mom sighed. "Why don't you and Caleb play with your ball while we talk a little huh?"

"Okay Mama." I said. I looked around trying to find it when I felt another gush of wind.

"Is this it?"

"Ah! You scared me." That Caleb kid somehow came out of nowhere. My hand was on my heart and I looked at him kind of surprised and scared.

"I'm sorry, I scared you. I just wanted to know if this was your ball." He held my ball closer to me. I calmed down and wondered how he did that.

I said, "Yeah, that's it, but how did you find it so fast?"

"I have super speed like my father."

"What do you mean?" I looked at him not believing what he was saying.

"I mean I can run really fast. My father can too."

"That's weird…"

"How so?"

"I know my dad runs really fast but he never said that others can run fast like him."

He shrugged, "Maybe he forgot to say it."

"Maybe…" I looked him still not believing him though.

"Father said there was someone like us somewhere, I didn't know it was your father." He looked at the grown-ups for like a second and then he looked back at me.

I looked at me ball and I got an idea. I still thought this was weird so I wanted to test him "So-o-o, if I throw my ball as far as I can, you can get it back in seconds?"

"Yes." He nodded.

"All right, let's see you prove it."

"Okay, where are you going to throw it?" He asked.

"Past the cherry tree by where the forest starts." I pointed. "Are you ready?"

"Are you sure you should throw it near the forest?" He looked at me funny.

"Yeah, it happens all the time." Dad would get it for me every time.

"Okay then, I'm ready."

I threw my ball as far as I could. He ran near the forest and caught the ball before it could hit the ground.

"Woah." He really can run super-fast. He ran right back and surprised me again. "Oh!"

"I'm sorry, did I scare you again?"

"No, just surprised me." I waved my hands in front of me. "But that's really cool. How long could you do that?"

"Since I could walk actually."

"That's seriously cool."

"Can't you run fast like your father?"

"No, not even close." I shrugged and looked at the ground. "I've tried a lot but I guess I can't run fast." Every day I would try to out run Dad at bath time but I never could. He always caught me after two seconds. I looked back up at him.

"Oh," He looked at my ball disappointed. But then he looked at me with a sorry look on his face. "I'm sorry,"

"Aw, it's okay." I smiled a little. "I wish that I could but I don't let it bother me. I tried as much as I could and that's all that really matters. Mama always said to be glad to be who you are. So I'm glad to be me."

He looked at me and smiled a little. "That's nice. I guess I'm glad to be me as well." He looked at the ball and then looked at me. "Would you like to throw the ball again?"

"Uh…sure, I can't throw it any farther though."

"That's fine, I just like to catch it." He smiled a little and shrugged.

I smiled back. "All right then, get ready! I'm not telling you where I'm throwing it this time."

He smirked and said, "I'm ready when you are."


	3. Chapter 3

The day Caleb and I met will always be special to me. He's gotten me through some rough times. Especially after my little brother was born. I learned that having a baby in the house meant that the baby needed a lot of attention… especially at night. I didn't mind keeping my brother company during the day. But when it was time for bed… he would cry… a lot.

I'd rather not remember Princeton's first months at the house… I was not myself for a long a time. Mom and Dad told me sometimes I would yell at the forest and scream into my pillows and my dolls. I was so tired and frustrated I guess I went a little crazy. They actually sent me to live with Caleb and his family for a little while. They didn't seem to mind and it was nice to hang out with Caleb all the time. It was like having another brother, except this one didn't keep me up and could walk and talk. It became a tradition since then that I would stay there for about two weeks every summer.

After Princeton turned about 6 or 7 months, everything went seemingly back to normal. But then, one day, I remember I was out in the back yard with Ben, Uncle Tails and Aunt Cream's son. He's like my cousin. He didn't speak much when we were little. Well, he still doesn't talk very much. He's a fox like my Uncle Tails but he was this kind if dark silver color with white highlights. He didn't have bangs like my uncle but his hair grew long and flat. His hair had faint white tips, almost like you could see through them. He got accustomed to wearing a cap to keep his hair out of his face. He was about 3 as far as I can remember. We were watching him and his sister Whitney while Aunt Cream and Uncle Tails were at the doctors. They were going to have another baby.

We were playing in the garden. He had these toys that acted like magnetic building blocks that came in different shapes and colors. It was fun. He would draw up plans for things to build and we'd build them. I never knew what he would draw up next. It could have been a building, a plane, an animal… it was kind of random.

Anyway, my parents were inside taking care of Princeton and Whitney when I felt a gust of wind.

"Ah," I closed my eyes and I ended up falling up against a pot and hit my head. "Ow," I whined. I looked up to see who it was. It was… "Princeton!?" His quills started to grow in and he looked more like Dad than Mom. He was more of an indigo violet sort of color though. Parts of his quills had a dark pink tint to them.

"Princeton!" I heard my mom yell. She and Dad came out of the house. Mom was holding Whitney.

I felt another gust of wind and he was gone.

"What?" I was in disbelief. He couldn't even walk yet. He just barely stood up a few days ago. How can he run like that?

"No way."

"Sonic-"

"On it." Before I knew it, my dad went after him. He hopped over the patio and started to run.

I still couldn't wrap my head around the fact my brother could run like that when he couldn't walk. It was unbelievable.

Something caught my eye, it was Whitney walking towards Ben. She was a rabbit like Aunt Cream but she had dark red orange kind of color with long sort of auburn colored hair in a bun.

"Aw man." I looked at the remnants of what was an elephant taller than me made from the magnetic pieces. "Princeton must've knocked it over."

"Oh, Sweetie, he didn't mean it."

"I know mama, I know. He's just a baby and he's learning." We went through this routine too many times for me to keep getting angry. It got exhausting to be upset three times a day sometimes. I gave up fighting for the most part after the time he started to throw blocks at me.

Whitney and Ben were already at work rebuilding the elephant. Whitney would inspect the pieces before handing them to Ben to place them where they belonged on the elephant. Watching them, I really hoped that Princeton and I would be able to work together like that. I did feel a little jealous towards my cousins. But Mom always said that this was a phase. Princeton would learn. It was taking a lot longer than I thought it would. I wasn't sure how much more I could take.

I looked at my mom and she smiled gently at me. "Come here Sweetie." She held her arms open so I came onto the bench and she held me in her lap. She squeezed me as she told me "I know it's been hard on you the past few months." She kissed my forehead. "It's been tough on your dad and me too."

"It feels like this is taking forever." I sighed and groaned.

She started to rock back forth. "I know Sweetie. But you need to know it won't be much longer." I sighed. I knew my mom was right. Even then I knew. It was just hard. A baby brother was hard to take care of and hard to get along with.

"But how much longer?" I whined.

I looked up at her.

She smiled tiredly at me. "I don't know Sweetie. You can't predict these things."

"That doesn't help." I told her. I looked at her disappointed.

"I'm not going to lie to you Annie. All we can do is wait and make sure Princeton is healthy and happy."

"It hurts though." I said while I held my head remembering yesterday when he flung his toy train around and hit my head. "And what will happen now?" He has super speed like Daddy. What if he wrecks the house?!" I asked worried and scared. I raised my voice a little.

She gently smiled at me. "He won't wreck the house. Your daddy will catch him before Princeton can break anything."

Something hit me. "How come Daddy hasn't come back yet?"


	4. Chapter 4

"Hello all." I turned around to find…

"Caleb?" We asked. Mom and I glanced at each other before looking at Caleb who was holding Baby Princeton.

"What are you doing here?" I asked as I hopped off Mom's lap.

"Where is Sonic?" Mom asked him.

Princeton started to cry. Mom went straight to Caleb and took Princeton in her arms to calm him down.

"We were attacked by a robot."

"What?!" we asked worried and scared.

Mom slowly walked closer to my younger cousins.

"Mr. Sonic is in the forest fighting the robot. It came out of nowhere but it seemed to target Mr. Sonic. He sent me with Princeton."

"Everybody inside, now." My mom told us. I had never seen Mom more serious… or scared.

As we started to pick up everything up though, Dad came back. "Did I miss the party?"

"Daddy!" I exclaimed.

"Sonic!"

He walked up to Mom who gave him a hug and a kiss. I quickly

"Oh Sonic, I was so worried-"

Dad kissed Mom.

"Daddy are you okay?" I asked when I made it to him.

"Never better." He scooped up Princeton from Mom's arms and then he scooped me up. He held us in different arms and hugged us tightly.

"Daddy, what happened to the robot?" I asked him. "What kind of robot was it?"

"It's gone Sweetie, don't worry." He kissed my forehead.

"But why did it attack? None of Uncle Tails' machines attack us."

"She's right. The only other time robots attacked you was back when Dr. Eggman was still alive." Caleb explained.

That's right. Dad would tell me stories about his adventures and the one villain that kept popping up was Dr. Eggman. I looked up at him and asked, "He's not, he's not back, is he? I mean he can't be, right? You saw him die."

He looked at me funny. He was trying to figure out how to explain it to me. He sighed and said, "I don't know Annie." Then he looked at my mom. "But we're going to find out." Then he looked at me. "And you're going to have a big play date with your cousins."

"You're not going to leave me alone with all of them are you?!" I asked terrified. All of my other cousins were babies or toddlers. I couldn't handle more than 2 at a time at best and that's if I didn't have to make sure Princeton stayed out of trouble.

Mom and Dad laughed a little. "No, no Annie. We'd never leave you by yourselves." I felt better, but not by much. I had a bad feeling about all of this.

We went inside, I took a look at Caleb, there was a red mark on his cheek. "Hey Caleb, you've got something…" I pointed to my cheek.

He looked at me confused and wiped his cheek with his fingers. He looked at his fingers, "Oh, it's just blood."

"Blood?" I asked him. Then I saw more red on his face. "You're still bleeding?!"

"I am?" He wiped his face again and looked at his hand. "That's odd."

"Sit down and watch my cousins please. I'll go get the first aid kit." I pulled his arm towards my younger cousins who set up their toys near the coffee table.

"But Annie-"

I ran to the bathroom before I could hear the rest. When I came back, I saw Caleb sitting down next to my cousins and looking at Ben's drawing.

I heard him say, "This is amazing. I didn't know you could draw this well Ben."

I sat down next to Caleb with the kit and told him, "Hold still Caleb."

"Annie, I'm healed." He said. "See?" I looked and didn't see anymore blood, I touched his cheek and nothing came out. No red on my fingers either.

"I will have to wash glove though."

"What happened to your cut? When I get a cut, you could still see where it is. You don't even that bumpy stuff on your face."

"I heal faster than a normal person. I thought you knew." He looked at me with almost a blank face.

"No." I was more confused than anything. "Since when can you do that?"

"Always."

"Really?" Looking back, it makes sense. I never saw him with an injury or cut before that day because he would heal that quickly. Even when he trained with his dad and he would be sore for about an hour the next morning. By the time he came for a play date, he would okay."

He nodded. "Yes, remember when I told you I sprained my ankle?"

"Yeah, you fell out of a high tree."

"I was trying to get that flower I gave to you on your birthday the next day."

"But you were walking just fine."

He nodded again and waited for me to get it.

"Oh… that's how fast your ankle got fixed."

He nodded again.

"How fast can you heal a broken bone?"

He looked out into space.

"I don't know. I haven't broken a bone yet."

"Well, if a fall from a tree can sprain your ankle, maybe you just need to fall from something higher to break your leg."

"Maybe." We looked at each other and nodded casually. "But I don't want to break my leg on purpose."

"Yeah, we'd probably get into big trouble."

"What would get you into big trouble?" We turned around to see my mom and dad. He looked at us with slight concern.

"If we tried to break Caleb's leg on purpose." I told them.

"Why?" Mom asked.

"To see how long it would take for me to heal." Caleb said and I nodded.

Mom looked at us with a worried look and said, "Please don't try anything like that."

Meanwhile, Dad looked out into space trying to see our logic. Mom looked at Dad noticing the look on his face.

"Sonic?" She asked him.

"You gotta admit, it's a good question."

"Sonic?!" Mom exclaimed, not believing what she was hearing.

"I thought so too." I said. "But I don't want to hurt Caleb like that."

"We'll find out soon, I think." Caleb said. We all looked at Caleb. "My father wants to teach me survival skills in the woods in two days. He said we'll be out there for two weeks. I might break a bone then."

"Okay!" Mom said and grabbed her head with her hands. "How about we stop talking about Caleb breaking a bone and tidy up the house before everyone comes, yeah?"

We kind of all looked around at each other and then at Mom.

"Good. Annie, would you like to help me make brownies?" Mama smiled at me.

"Sure Mama."

I went to help make brownies with Mom and the kitchen while Dad and Caleb watched Princeton and my cousins. The brownies weren't done by the time everybody made it to the house. They all seemed kind of secretive and scared. The feeling in my gut felt more right then. Something was going to happen. I didn't know what, but I knew it something big.

I remember Ms. Maria and my Aunt Cream watched us while the rest were in the basement.

"What do you think is going on?" I whispered to Caleb as I poured milk into a glass.

He took a deep breath. "I think they're discussing a battle plan."

"What does that mean?" I took a bite of my brownie.

"They want to plan out what to do in case something like this happens again." He took a bite out of his brownie. "This is delicious by the way."

"Thanks. It's mom's favorite recipe." I wondered a little bit. Caleb knew more about this kind of stuff better than I did. "Do you think it'll happen again?" I took a few more bites.

"I don't know." He took a sip of milk. "I hope not." He looked at me kind of sad and intense.

"Caleb?" I looked at him funny. "What is it?" I scooted closer to him. He never looked at me like that before.

He looked away from me. "Nothing, I think."

"That doesn't help."

He looked at me and smiled. "I'm pretty sure it's nothing."

I wasn't sure if I should believe him but I knew he wasn't going to tell me anything else even if I tried to get him to talk.


	5. Chapter 5

I remember after that day, Mom and Dad kept a closer watch on my brother and I. I didn't really notice it since I had school and homework. Dad would come pick me up and we'd all spend time in the café Mom owned. Normally Dad would be able to catch Princeton before he could make it out the door but sometimes he was too swift for Dad. But of course, it would take my Dad less than a minute usually to bring him back.

In the summer, it was a little different. I got bored of doing the same thing over and over again in Mom's shop so my parents decided to let me spend some time with Uncle Tails and Aunt Cream. I played with my cousins and helped my Aunt Cream in her garden. When I got bored there, I spent some time with Uncle Knuckles and Aunt Rouge. I kind of went back and forth depending on what I wanted to do that day. This went on for years and as I got older my aunts and uncles taught me all kinds of stuff from learning how to fix my roller skates to how to find geodes.

I was never bored anymore. If we fast forward a few years to when I was 11, I think is when I have the most memories.

"That's great Annie. Just keep doing that for the rest of the cake and make four in the middle like a box. Just like the picture."

I was holding a tube of frosting and making flowers around the edges of a cake. Mom had a book set next to me of the picture of the cake. I smiled when I heard my mom happy and complimenting me. "Okay Mama." She left the back to make sure the customers were taken care of up front. I was left with a few of the chefs and bakers working as usual.

I hummed to myself as I worked being careful with every little flower on my own little special working bench. I heard the back door open.

I asked, "Who is it?" as I stopped decorating the cake and looked behind me.

"Aunt Cream, hello Annie." She was wearing a smock over a yellow dress. Her hair was long and she always pulled it back into a bun when she worked.

"Hi Aunt Cream, is it lunch time already?" Aunt Cream, Mom and I would always have lunch together in the café.

"Well yes, but I was hoping you could help me with a huge order of flowers."

"Sure Aunt Cream, but can we have some lunch first?"

She smiled. "Yes of course." She came and gave me a hug. "And thank you so much."

"No problem. Oh but let me finish this cake before we eat. Could you pull the pizza out of the oven when the timer goes off?"

"Oh, what kind of pizza is it today?"

"I wanted to try something a little different. It's pepperoni, chicken, pineapple and hot peppers."

"Sounds delicious."

"I got the idea from one of Aunt Rouge's clients who came in looking for a prom dress and I helped design a custom-made dress for her." I told her excitedly trying not to squeeze so much icing onto the cake.

She giggled. "Oh that's wonderful Annie."

"We just finished it yesterday and Aunt Rouge taught me more tricks with the sewing machine."

"That's wonderful, when does she come and pick it up?"

"Well she has to get it fitted first thing tomorrow

The front door to the kitchen opened up. "Oh, good Cream you're here." Mom said. "Promptly, as usual."

"I hope you don't mind but I asked Annie to help me with a huge wedding order."

"I already said I would Mama."

"That's perfect. I have interviews to do anyway after lunch."

The most fun I had though was when I visited Uncle Tails in his workshop with my cousins Ben and Whitney to help build and test his inventions. Ben and I learned to fly a plane at the same time too that summer.

"Hey Uncle Tails. Hi Ben, Hi Whits." I said as I walked into his workshop. Dad dropped me off before taking Flash to help him control his speed.

"Hey Annie." Uncle Tails said as he picked Whitney up from the ground to place her in her seat. We call her Whits for short and she's as gifted as Ben and Uncle Tails. She was about 6 at the time. She was a rabbit like Aunt Cream but she had dark red orange kind of color with long lighter hair and a poof of fur on the top of her head that look a snail shell or something. Ben was on the wing of the plane checking something underneath a panel. He was 8 if I remember correctly. He finally got a haircut in who knows how long. For some odd reason, his hair curled a bit almost like his sister. Neither of them could fly like Aunt Cream and Uncle Tails though.

"Hi Annie." Ben said as he looked up at me before putting the panel back.

"Hey Annie." Whits said as she waved.

"We're going to fly today?" I asked. "Is the surprise something we have to fly to like an amusement park or a pretty valley?" I asked walking towards the plane.

Uncle Tails specifically asked my parents if I could come for a surprise.

"No, the surprise is, you and Ben are going to learn to fly a plane."

Ben and I looked at each other and gasped.

"You're serious Uncle Tails?!" I asked. He said he would teach us to fly once we understood how it works and the theory behind flight but I didn't think it would be so soon.

"Really Dad, you're going to teach us right now?!"

"Yes." He took me in his arms and placed me in my seat. "I think you two are ready."

"This is so cool! Thanks Uncle tails." I still can't believe how giddy I was.

"What about me Daddy?" Whits whined.

Uncle Tails looked at her with a soft smile. "Not today Whitney. But I promise, when you turn 8, I'll teach you how to fly a plane too."

"You promise?" She looked at him with big eyes.

He kissed her forehead. "Yes Sweetheart."

After that, Uncle Tails talked and demonstrated for Ben and I, how to take off. We already knew from manuals and book work we did but it's not the same as actual practice.

I went first since I was the oldest. Uncle Tails was right next me ready to take the controls in case of an emergency. "Do you need me to show you first?"

"I don't think so Uncle Tails." He watched me as I prepared to take off. Before I did I looked in front of us and noticed something. "Uh Uncle Tails, the door isn't open."

"What?" He looked forward. He looked dumbfounded for a second. "Good eye Annie." He smiled kind of funny and got out of the plane. "I'll take care of that."

When he opened up the garage door, we took to the skies. A little rough at first, it took a little while longer than I thought for me to lift the plane off the ground.

"Very nice Annie, can you take us up higher to go over those trees?"

"Sure thing." I smiled and lifted the plane up slowly. I remember humming most of the time and enjoying the view. It reminded me of going on a run with Dad when he would lift me up on his shoulders and I could feel like I could fly. Different view since we see the tops of the trees and houses. It made everything look so small and cute and pretty. It was nice. It was really calming.

"Very good, nice and steady."

"Thanks Uncle Tails, for everything. I thought you wouldn't let us fly one of your planes until we were in high school."

"I thought so too until I saw how determined you and Ben were. I figured, why let you wait?"

"Speaking of which, I think it's Ben turn now. You ready Cuz?"

"Uh-huh."

For the next few weeks when the weather was right, all I did was practice with Uncle Tails and Ben. I loved it. I did feel a little bad that I didn't help my mom and aunts as much but I made sure that I helped for big parties with the cakes and flowers and gowns.

I only stopped when I went on my annual stay with Caleb and his family.

"How's the packing coming along Annie?" Mama asked me while I was finishing up packing up my clothes. She was at the door while I was on my bed.

"I just need to pack my games, books and other stuff." I said pointing around my room.

"Uh… Honey," Mom started to say. I may… have a tendency of overpacking. I like to be prepared.

"I know Mama, I'll only pack my duffel bag." I said as I walked to my closet to pull out a few of my board games.

"Good girl."

"I still don't see why being prepared is a bad thing. Especially since Caleb is busy in the morning."

"Well, you had a hard time carrying it down the stairs."

"But Dad is the one who holds it when we go their house." I said I moved around my room picking up whatever I was taking.

"There was also a lot of stuff you didn't even use."

"Yeah I know, I'm not taking my roller skates with me this time. Or my knitting needles. Ms. Maria has plenty of yarn and extra knitting needles I can use."

"Ooh, what are you going to make?"

"I want to make a hat for Caleb, a headband for me and a scarf for Dad since he lost the last one I made for him when he was out with Mr. Shadow."

They were gone for almost two weeks because of some sort of work thing with Mr. Shadow. I later found out there was a lot more to it than that.

"Anything else?"

"Well, I want to work on the bird house I was making but I don't think I'll be able to fit everything in my bag."

When I was ready, I came down the stairs and yelled, "Daddy!" The door open and Dad came running in. I felt him scoop me up. "Oh." I giggled. "I'm ready to go."

I got to Caleb's house just before lunch time. I wanted to make sure I got there after he was done training with his dad so we could hang out.


	6. Chapter 6

"So what do you want to do?" I asked Caleb as we were finishing up lunch.

"Would you mind if we stayed around the house?"

"Uh, sure, why?" I asked him. I was a little disappointed since I liked exploring with Caleb and it's really the only time I could without my brother ruining it for me. You see, ever since we found out he had super speed going on a run with Dad was never the same. He was so impatient and such a show off I could never explore with Dad.

"I'm rather sore from the past few days."

"Oh, okay. Well, I did bring some of my board games and card games."

"Seems relaxing. Should we play outside?"

"Yeah, that's perfect. Oh and I have so much to tell you."

"I can't wait to hear all about it."

I smiled. Caleb was always such a good listener. I haven't gotten to see him much ever since this whole training thing started when I was 9 and it's slowly been taking up his time. He didn't go to a normal school either. He was at a boarding school to train to be a GUN agent.

Anyways, we set up a game on the patio. We brought some juice with us on a tray.

"It has been a long time since I've played a game just to play a game."

"Don't you and your roommate play games?" I asked him as I made my first move.

"Sometimes. We're normally too tired to. Our instructors have taken up using games to improve teamwork, fighting skills and other things though. It's not the same as just playing a game with good company."

He looked at me with a smile I never saw before. Okay, weird but okay.

He then told me, "I miss playing with you Annie. This is the most relaxed I felt all year."

Aw, that's just sweet. "I miss having fun with you too Caleb."

"So, you said you had a lot to say…"

"Oh well you are never going to believe what I've been doing all summer."

"You found another hobby?" He asked.

"I don't know if you can call it a hobby. But you know how Uncle Tails said he would give me flying lessons someday?"

"Yes." He said before realizing what I was going to tell him. He was shocked a little and excited. "You flew a plane?"

I nodded with a big smile on my face.

"That's amazing."

"I know, right?! I was so excited when Uncle Tails told Ben and I we were going to learn to fly.

"Ben is able to fly as well?" He asked.

"Uh huh. Whits came with us but she didn't learn. Uncle Tails said he would teach her when she was older."

"How well can you fly?"

"Uncle Tails says I'm a natural. I can already fly at night and even do loops in the air." I went on and on about it that we forgot we were playing a game.

It was almost sunset when I finished telling him about my last round of flying.

"That's really incredible."

"Hey if you want, I can take you for a fly and we can have a picnic or something. Uncle Tails says I'm ready to fly by myself now. You won't have to carry me around this time."

"I don't mind carrying you Annie but I've never been in a flying plane before. That would be wonderful."

"I thought you had planes at your school."

"Yes, but we have yet to come to the part of our training involving planes."

"Will you learn to fly one too?"

"I think I can choose to learn if I want to."

"Right." I took a sip of juice. A part of me worried about Caleb and his dream… and the other kids who go to his school. I know they're still in training but they're still kids. It doesn't sound like they get to be kids at his school and it seems so unfair.

"Annie?" He looked at me with a concerned look on his face.

"I'm sorry Caleb. It just seems a bit much for you to be doing all this."

He nodded letting me know he was listening. He looked at me with concerned eyes.

"You're sore and tired all the time now. The only time you get a break is in the evening after dinner because of all the training and learning and studying. You said so yourself."

He nodded again.

"And even when I visit, you still train in the morning. I come at lunch time so we can just have fun the first day I visit. I know this is your dream, but do have to work so much? And when we're in high school, will I even see you in the summer?"

He nodded and I suddenly remembered something

"I'm done."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, pretty sure." I just wanted him to answer me.

"You already know that I'm fine, my classmates are fine. We're happy, classes can get long but training is normally fun."

"I know… but still… you should be a kid more often." It always bothered me that he had to work more and play less than me and other kids. I started to mess with a game piece on the board.

"Annie. I realize training doesn't look like fun to you but it's the most fun I have with my father. I enjoy it. Just like you enjoy helping your mom, aunts and uncles. You get exhausted yourself too."

I sighed. "I know, I know. I'm sorry I brought it up again. It just bugs me."

"I don't mind Annie. I like listening to you talk."

He reached over and placed his hand on my shoulder. I looked at his hand on my shoulder before looking back at him. He smiled a little at me with caring eyes. I smiled back feeling better I got it out of my system.

"Thanks Caleb. I'm sure someday this won't bother me anymore."

"You're welcome. For now, I'll be prepared to listen."


	7. Chapter 7

**Hello, I'm still alive. My creativity has lost a lot of steam over the years so I've had too many hours staring a computer screen trying to force words onto the page and it's getting worse. Bear with me here. Also, I'm still playing with a sequel to Rebel but I'm not sure if I can recreate the resonance I had with it and that all of you had with that story. So we'll see how that works out.**

 **As always, I thank you the readers for taking the time to look over my work and other writers on the website. I hope you'll enjoy this piece.**

* * *

The next day, I woke up to help Ms. Maria with breakfast. I heard Caleb talking with his mom.

"Should I go wake Annie up Mother?"

"No, no. Let her sleep."

I walked in and said, "Good morning Ms. Maria. Good morning Caleb. Aren't you supposed to be training with your dad?"

"Father was called into an emergency meeting."

"What kind of emergency?" The only other time there was an emergency was when there was a height in jewel thievery.

"He didn't say."

"Don't you two worry about it." Ms. Maria told us. "Shadow and the other agents will take care of it." Just like the always do.

"Okay Ms. Maria."

"Very well Mother."

"Annie, would you mind bringing me the eggs and milk?" Ms. Maria asked.

"Sure Ms. Maria."

After breakfast, Caleb and I went exploring. I took the map that I was making of the forest and told him to go to the last spot we went to and go from there.

"Which way now Annie?" He asked me. He was carrying me in his arms while I held the map.

"Um… left until we see that rock that looks like an egg. Go slowly though."

"Of course." He began to jog to the left. I could see the trees more clearly this time. I smiled looking around and trying to remember if any of this was familiar. Then. Something hurt my eyes. "Ahh." I closed and rubbed my eyes.

Caleb stopped and asked, "What's wrong?"

"I think the sun got in my eye." I opened my eyes and looked up at him.  
"I'm okay."

"Are you sure?" He asked me with a worried look in his eyes.

"I'm sure." I smiled a little. He glanced at me before halting to a stop.

"Hey, what's-" I looked forward. "Wow… Where are we?"

"I'm not sure."

"Can you put me down please?"

"Of course."

He let me down and I really took in the view. "It looks like, some kind of scrap yard of stuff my Uncle Tails would work on."

"Hey look at this!" I looked over in his direction. "There's, an image here." He wiped some of the dust off.

We gasped once we realized what we were looking at.

"This is Dr. Eggman's scrap yard!" Caleb exclaimed.

"Did you know about this?" I asked.

"Yes, I just didn't realize how close we lived to it."

"Is this the only one?" I asked.

"No, he has some all over the planet." He knelt down taking a better look.

"This is actually really cool, looking at our family's handy work. How many do you think there are?" I said as I sat down and started to draw and write on our map.

"At least a few hundred." He walked towards me as I finished up.

"What do you think?" I showed my picture to him.

He laughed a little. "You really captured Dr. Eggman's look."

I might have drawn him with cross eyes, a pig nose and a mustache three times the length of the head.

We laughed a little before Caleb popped his head up and looked around.

"What? Did you hear something?" He didn't look at me but he nodded.

"Okay, maybe it was a small animal or something."

I half shrugged and tried to smile.

Then he got a serious look in his face and turned around.

I remember a lot of screaming and being so scared I wasn't sure what I was looking at. I froze. Caleb was fighting something around his neck before it knocked him onto the ground and I realized he was being choked.

When I finally realized what was happening, I ran to him and held onto the cold metal thing trying to pull it off of him. We sent it flying and it came right back for us. Caleb could hardly catch his breath. I grabbed a stick and Caleb ran after the tiny thing. He grabbed it and threw it in my direction. I hit that thing as hard as I could and it broke when it hit a robot arm.

We were breathing heavily and I was pretty shaken. My legs were really wobbly and buckled right under me. I sat down on the ground with the stick in my hand wondering what that was.

Caleb ran towards me and knelt down beside me. "Are you okay Annie?"

"I think so." I said as I stared back at the thing that tried to kill my friend. I was still breathing kind of heavy. It tried to kill my friend. "Are you okay Caleb? How's your throat?" I asked worried and let go of the stick looking at this throat. There was blood but I knew whatever wound he had would have healed by now.

"I'm fine. Come on, we better head back to the house."

I smiled a little and tried to get up. My legs wobbled and I fell down again. "Oh, uh, help?" I looked up at him with weak smile. He grabbed my hand and pulled me up. "Thanks."

"Of course."

We headed off and I couldn't help but wonder what just happened.

"Hey Caleb, what do you think that thing was?" I said as he let me down.

"I'm not sure. I've never seen anything like it."

"Like what, Son?"

Oh boy. We looked up at Mr. Shadow and we spilled our guts out. He called my mom, dad, aunts and uncles. It was just like when I was little.

Needless to say, they were concerned about what happened to us. We explained again and again what happened and I think a part of them couldn't believe what they were hearing. My parents decided it was best that I came home and offered to let Caleb stay with us. Mr. Shadow didn't like the idea.

"I think it's a wonderful idea."

Mr. Shadow looked at her like she was crazy.

"In fact, I think we all could use a vacation." She smiled and turned to my parents ignoring the questioning look on Mr. Shadow's face.

"Well I suppose it has been a while…" Mom said and looked at Dad.

"But Maria-" Mr. Shadow tried to talk to her.

"You and I have vacation days we haven't used. We deserve this."

Mr. Shadow told us, "Children, please wait in the living room." The look on his face said they might get into a fight. Well, more like a debate.

We did as we were told. Déjà vu kind of set in as soon as we sat down on the couch. Except this time, I was kind of freaked out.

"Annie?"

"Hm?" I looked at Caleb with, I guess a face that worried him.

"Are you going to be okay?" He asked and sat closer to me.

"I… think so." Maybe.

Even now, I think we were lucky that day. I could have lost my friend, maybe I could've died.

"That doesn't sound assuring Annie."

I just kind of looked at him and shrugged. He looked at me expecting to get more off my chest. I sighed. "It was scary. I mean we were out in the woods like normal. It's not like we accepted candy from a stranger."

He reached out and half hugged me.

"We could've been in serious trouble and I don't want to be scared of the woods. We've had such good memories there."

I nuzzled into his chest. I liked it because it reminded me of Dad's. I felt my heart racing thinking about that thing that attacked us.

"I'm scared Caleb. Something's not right." I wasn't sure what, but something was definitely up. I started to cry a little.

"It's okay, I was scared too."

I gasped and pulled my head up to look at him. "But you never get scared, not even with that movie about that clown that killed children."

"Well that's just a movie. This was real and you're right, something could have happened to us. I also know that you're going to think that I'm crazy for saying this but please let me finish."

He looked at me waiting for me to say yes. I wasn't sure what he would say that would make me think he's crazy now but sure, I went ahead and told him, "Okay."

"I've accepted my own death."

"Wh-"

"Stop right there." He ordered. He looked at me with a stern face.

I covered my mouth. As much as I wanted to object, I told him I would let him finish.

"I'm not afraid to die Annie but I am afraid that I'll lose you. I should be able to keep you safe and if I can't do that, then the time I've spent training and studying would be meaningless. You're my friend and I don't want anything to happen to you."

I was shocked, I was in awe and I never really thought he felt that way.

He placed his hands on my shoulders and looked at me with a serious face. "I need you to know and I need you to believe nothing will actually happen to us and I won't let anything happen to you."

"But… what about you?" I asked him. "You matter a lot to me too and I don't want something to happen to you."

"I'll be fine."

I looked at him not impressed. "That doesn't really help."

He smiled and let go of my shoulders. "Do you trust me Annie?"

"What kind of question is that? Of course I trust you."

"Then trust me when I tell you that I'll be fine."

I sighed. "I should've seen that coming."

He laughed a little and I smiled a little hearing him laugh. But as soon as I smiled I frowned.

"Annie?"

"I have a really bad feeling, Caleb."

I would learn to trust my gut soon enough.


End file.
